my life, my thoughts, my world.

The first mail truck in a long while had a few packages for me on it today. Two from home, one from my Dad’s cousin, and one from the Evans family in Whillingford, PA. I asked for food, and boy did I get it. I did as I usually do, and sorted by what I’d share with my tent, what I’d share with the staff, and what I’d keep all to myself. Looks like I can start going back to the gym, as I no longer have to rush to the chow hall for lunch, I’ve got enough food in my room to handle that meal.

One item that stands out is a new alarm clock. It’s pretty loud, way louder than the turd I had at WLC. This fancy alarm clock has an extra feature I almost wish it lacked – a thermometer. Yesterday, it was a nice 96.4F inside my tent, I didn’t even bother going outside to see how hot it was on the outside. The AC works, in that it blows cold air, it just doesn’t blow enough cold air fast enough to fight against the hot air that comes in through the doors and other openings. We’ve got the same problem in the TOC. One giant hose pipes cold air directly on my chair, and someone else’s – but doesn’t do much to effectively cool the TOC. All the hot air just pools up top and keeps it nice and toasty.

Proving that I am in fact the oldest Martinez grandchild, I took some 100mph tape, and a large cardboard box, and got busy building a deflector to redirect the cold air up to the top of the TOC (which happens to also have a curved surface). To some folk’s suprise (not mine though, of course) it started getting cooler in here rather quickly. All at the same time, papers stopped flying off my desk. Fancy that. Of course, the materials used didn’t leave me with a professional looking product, and I’m sure the powers that be will make me take it off the hose because it looks bad – but it works. I’ll be doing a bit of ducting with empty water bottles, 100mph, and some 550 cord to hang it – from the AC plenum, to my cot. If the vent is only going to blow cold air out 2′ before it loses the fight to the heat, I might as well move those 2′ to somewhere I can enjoy. I’ll post photos to my photostream @ Flickr.

The other day I went ahead and ordered my lighting equipment, and updated the wish list to reflect the change. My account is $1300 lighter now, but hopefully it’s worth it in the long run. Anyway, I’ve got two more strobes, 4 wireless (RF) transcievers, stands, umbrellas, correction gels, and a partridge in a pear tree on the way. Should be fun to mess around with over R&R, especially with a bunch of the assignments on Strobist.

In other news, I’m anxiously awaiting the packages containing the final few episodes of Lost, which may well be the best TV show ever. Word is I’ve also got some House, and Heroes on the way. If anyone has Battlestar Galactica (Season 3 – present), feel free to burn it and send it, I’m willing to give it another chance now, seeing how I watched S1 and S2 out here last time, I may as well watch the rest while I’m here again.

A few days ago I was asked about re-enlistment. After the laughter ended, I was still being asked what it would seriously take to get me to re-enlist. I figure if the .mil can fork over about $88M for a month, and $4M a day after that, I might stay for another month. Something tells me that’s a little steep for even our rich Uncle.

Still no clue when R&R might be, but I’ll let folks know as soon as I know.

Thanks to the overwhelming support of my family and friends (and even people I don’t know that are reading this), my men and I have quite the stash of necessities. I have indicated as much to a number of these people and in turn been asked if there is anything else I want. For several weeks, the answer has been no. With the arrival of the last few boxes, I’m probably set for the remainder of the deployment as far as soap, shampoo/conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and deodorant go. I could still use additional Mach 3 razors, and shaving cream.

Beyond that, snacks would be great now. Stuff that won’t spoil on the way over here. The single serve tuna, canned food, Ramen (though we need to find a way to heat some water, other than the Sun), crackers, chips, etc. I don’t know specifically what my guys like to snack on, but I’m a big fan of crackers and oatmeal cream pies. Anyway, our needs are pretty well handled, and I’ve been asked about wants, so there you have it. Obviously, anything that gets sent out will not be wasted. If I can’t hold on to it, I will pass it along through the Brigade until everything is gone.

Thanks again for everyone’s support.

Two of my friends were killed yesterday, and one of my former soldiers was badly wounded when an IED destroyed their vehicle. My thoughts and prayers go out to their families. Those of us still here will continue to support each other in this time of grief. I’m not saying any names, but you know what unit I’m in, and Google is quite powerful.

Rest in Peace brothers.

Slegehammer. Rock of the Marne.

A little of everything this time around. My wish list has been updated to reflect the stuff I do believe I’ll be buying when I get back. The top bit is stuff I plan on buying, and using in addition to the gear I already have for my shot at my crazy photography for $BLING$ idea/plan/hope/WhateverYouWantToCallIt(tm). The stuff at the bottom is more stuff I’d like to add, but can hold off for a while. Well over $15k in goodies combined.

Rumor has it there are some pretty good movies out, or coming out soon. I want them. Good movies rule. Brian, Jordan, this is pretty much a task for you – being the two dudes I trust most to recommend MoviesThatDon’tSuck(tm). Some funny stuff may well come out of the sandbox given a few plans floating around with some friends – and I’m more than willing to use whatever gear I have out here to help make them happen. Stay tuned.

I clean my M4 too much. Not that I assume it will see any use, but because I really can’t stand a filthy weapon. Walking to the toilet is enough to get it full of sand, and that is pretty annoying. In fact, just sitting here for 12 hours on shift is enough to let it collect enough sand for a small child to play in. Also, I miss my 1911s – why, I’m not sure, but I do. When I do return, I’m probably going to have to buy an M4, a carbine upper for my Commander, and a few thousand empty .45ACP cases, bullets, and primers (along with the required gunpowder.) I haven’t reloaded in a while, but I’ll definitely be rollin’ my own as soon as I can.

A few days ago a song popped into my head, lyrics first. Usually it happens musically first, then ReallyBadAndPointless(tm) lyrics show up. Actually, I’ve never had lyrics before I had music. Weird. Anyway, when I get a place, and some time, I shall record it. it’s in A Minor for anyone curious, but that’s all I’m saying. Having my Strat would be most helpful, as it could rock if I turned the volume to 11 – I’ll just have to do the unplugged cut first, and get it all loud and awesome later.

When I packed my BoxOfShitToSaveMeFromBoringDays(tm), I left out all my programming books. Big mistake. Don’t get me wrong, I still hate programming, and rarely come up with anything worth coding in the first place, but at least it gives me SOMETHING to do. Guess I’ll just have to download some AppleScript stuff and have fun “mastering” OS X, until I break something and have to use one of my spanky backups to save the day.

That is all for now.